Phillies can’t hide their euphoria after signing Cliff Lee

The Philadelphia Phillies’ 2011 World Series championship T-shirts are not yet on sale.

Crush the New York Yankees in free agency, though, and you’re entitled to crow a little bit. Cliff Lee agreed to sign with the Phillies on Monday, and closer Brad Lidge was all but hawking World Series tickets Tuesday.

When Cole Hamels is your No. 4 starter, behind Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Lee, dream big.

“I just keep thinking about how many wins we’re going to get in the regular season,” Lidge told mlb.com, “and how dominant those guys will be in the postseason.”

The Lee signing officially certified the Phillies as the third economic superpower in the major leagues.

No longer can the Dodgers and other National League clubs find comfort that their road to the World Series does not run through Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park.

The Phillies project to have three players each earning $20 million next season — Lee, Halladay and first baseman Ryan Howard — same as the Yankees. The Boston Red Sox should have one.

As of now, the Phillies project to have eight players each earning $10 million next season, same as the Red Sox.

The Phillies’ Fab Four starting rotation could be paid $70 million next season, depending on the final structure of Lee’s contract. The San Diego Padres’ 25-man roster, no longer including Adrian Gonzalez, might receive half that.

Lee’s decision left the American League at a curious standstill. The Red Sox have dropped $300 million on Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, so bully for them.

But the Tampa Bay Rays, the AL East champions, have lost Crawford, first baseman Carlos Pena, closer Rafael Soriano and most of his setup men, with shortstop Jason Bartlett and one of two starters — Matt Garza or James Shields — next in line for the exodus.

The Angels have done nothing to rehabilitate a creaky offense with far more holes than a healthy Kendry Morales can fill.

The Texas Rangers, waiting on Lee, lost the ace of their first World Series team.

The Yankees, also waiting on Lee, lost the one and only elite starter available. The locals did not take it well.

The New York Daily News devoted its front and back covers to the news. “Lee gives Yanks the shaft,” read a headline on the back cover. The New York Post, in a huge headline on its back cover: “Cliff Stiffs Yanks.”

On a conference call with reporters Tuesday, New York General Manager Brian Cashman said, “Plan B is patience.”

Good luck with that when your average ticket price is $52 and your team website cannot even find five starters to list on its depth chart. Andy Pettitte can name his price to come back, and even then the fifth starter might be Ivan Nova.

None of this is the Phillies’ problem. The Yankees might be gritting their way through the winter. The Phillies already are primed for their third Fall Classic in four years.

They could be fragile — every starting position player is 30 or over, save for rookie Domonic Brown — but for now the Phillies are busy counting October chickens before they hatch.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the postseason,” Lidge said, “but I just can’t imagine a scenario in which we get there and don’t have the best pitching by a lot, no matter who we’re playing against.

“Even the Giants. They have four great starters, but compared to the names we’re throwing out there, there’s nobody that can compete with that.”

Ah, the San Francisco Giants. They beat Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels in the NL championship series. They beat Lee twice in the World Series. They will fly a flag in San Francisco next season.

The Phillies do not visit San Francisco until August. Presumably, they will have clinched the NL East by then.

bill.shaikin@latimes.com